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Hey, brother!
Let me tell you something, J.
Names are important things.
And make no mistake, Kvothe probably has more names
than he has any business having.
And even just in the opening chapters of the first book
he's referred to by like four different names.
he is Kote, Kvothe, Reshi, and the Innkeeper.
But then it's barely even a few pages later
that Chronicler arrives on scene and gives us even more:
Kvothe the Arcane, Kvothe King Killer, Shadicar,
Lightfinger, and Dulator.
Or Dulator, Dulator, I don't know.
I won't be Kvothe if it wasn't hard to pronounce.
At the university, he is Kvothe Arlinden's son,
Kvothe the Bloodless.
The Adem call him Maedre.
I mean, it is names on top of names on top of names,
and yet somehow there is one that is so obvious
that is missing,
an name that each and every one of us actually even possess.
And yet, this man of so many names doesn't seem to have one.
And that is a last name.
Amongst all of these others,
it's easy to just disregard this fact
or maybe not even notice it.
After all, Kvothe is of the Edema Ruh, one family.
So who would bother from a last name
when everybody around you is your family
but coming from the far reaches?
And even then going beyond that,
there's the question of, does it even matter?
Again, Kvothe is about as low-born as you could possibly be
so his last name probably doesn't hold
any significance anyway.
Except, of course, welcome to the channel.
Of course we think it has extreme importance.
Although Kvothe may not have realized it,
I think we know exactly what his last name is.
Today, we discuss.
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Now of all of Kvothe's names,
we know how he got some of them
but others we're still kind of in the dark on.
Shadicar, Dulator, and King Killer are all names
that we don't actually know the story behind yet.
Although King Killer seems kind of self-evident.
Though let's just point out that it is a bold move
to name the entire series "The King Killer Chronicles"
and then get to the end of the second book
and still not know who the king is.
Moving through his other names, though,
we know that Six-String is a reference
to when he gets his pipes at the Eolian
and one of the strings on his lute breaks.
We know that Kvothe earns his spot in Ademre
after his trial at the Sword Tree
and is given the name Maedre,
which is definitely not coincidentally an anagram of Ademre.
Actually, I think it's slightly possible
the actual name he was given is Ademre
and he's changing it for the Chronicle
because he's not supposed to give his name out to others.
Moving on to the other names though,
we know of course that Kvothe the Bloodless
comes from the first whipping at the university
where he very cleverly uses Nahlruta
so that he doesn't bleed.
That one actually has a clever double meaning though
because it also refers to Kvothe's lack of bloodline.
He comes from low birth.
His family owns no lands or title.
Again, he is a proud member of the Edema Ruh,
at least so he thinks.
Kvothe is uncommon smart,
and Abenthy figures this out right away
and realizes there's something different about this kid.
Kvothe himself even says that he's just glad
that Ben figured this out sooner rather than later.
"It's hard being treated like your kid,
"even if you happen to be one."
And yet, Kvothe has blind spots.
Like he is terrible with money.
Awful. Horrible.
If you've ever heard the phrase lifestyle creep,
Kvothe has it, like completely.
He's always being given a certain amount of money,
and with that amount of money
he always tells you what he could do with it,
like survive for this long.
And then as soon as he has that money
he goes and spends it on a whole bunch of other things,
and it drives me crazy.
The second blind spot is that for like three quarters
of this entire story he has absolutely no idea
when somebody is flirting with him.
Like at all. Even a little.
"I couldn't understand why Fela wanted
"to stand in line with me."
Because she likes you, dude.
And his final blind spot, of course third time pays for all,
is his family, his roots, who he is.
And it's important to keep in mind that Kvothe himself
is the one telling us this story,
meaning the details I'm about to reveal to you
about his lineage are told to us by him.
How he hasn't connected these dots yet
is frankly unreasonable,
which is why today's theory is a little bit unorthodox
for this channel
because I'm not even sure that it's a theory at all.
I'm just going to literally show you the points in the story
where he tells us this information.
And instead of making you wait to the very end of the video
to reveal what his last name actually is,
I'm just going to tell you upfront.
Kvothe is a Lackless. Poof!
Okay, so one of the things that I love about this
and this series is just how well laid out it is.
Everything is meticulously planned by Rothfuss.
There are these tiny details that come together
and are about as far apart in the story as humanly possible.
It's really easy to miss
because you're getting some of the details
that support this idea that he is a Lackless
extremely early in the story,
but it's not corroborated until way at the end
of "Wise Man's Fear."
The first hint comes when Kvothe is still traveling
with the Edema Ruh and his family.
"My father was a better actor and musician
"than any you have ever seen.
"My mother had a natural gift for words.
"They were both beautiful with dark hair and easy laughter.
"They were Ruh down to their bones,
"and that really is all that needs to be said.
"Save perhaps that my mother was a noble
"before she was a trouper.
"She told me my father had lured her away
"from a miserable, dreary hell with sweet music
"and sweeter words."
And now this is a blink-and-you-miss-it detail
that might suggest that his mother comes from a bloodline
that might be a little bit deeper
than what you might expect from the Edema Ruh.
From there, we get a series of details
about Kvothe's upbringing that help to start explain
the worldly knowledge that later aids him so much
in all of his endeavors.
He learns woodcraft from Laclith,
the inner workings of the royal court from a courtesan,
acting from his father.
And soon after that, we learn how he meets Abenthy
and begins his rudimentary training to become an arcanist.
And through all this,
you're kind of lulled into this lengthy list of characters
who have granted Kvothe a new portion of his worldview.
Except how to spend, or better yet, save money.
So when you get to this next piece of the puzzle
it's very easy to think that just what's happening
is you're learning that his mother taught him manners.
But when you know what we know now,
it reads a little bit differently.
Kvothe is setting up a cook fire one night
when he starts reciting a rhyme he heard
about Lady Lackless.
It's worth pointing out that at this point in the story
you've also been introduced to the idea
that children's rhymes are a thing.
And on top of that, you are basically drinking
from a fire hose in terms of world building.
There are basically nonstop references
to people and characters that you've never heard of before.
So when the scene is unfolding,
it really just comes across as a teachable moment
from his mom's perspective.
She says, "It's not a nice thing to be singing.
"Have you stopped to think what it's about?"
This feels like such a classic life lesson, right?
Like have you considered who may be impacted by your words?
After all, we are the Ruh.
We especially have to be careful with what we say.
She goes on with,
"The difference is between saying something to a person
"and saying something about a person.
"The first might be rude, but the second is always gossip."
Again, it's another teachable moment. Don't gossip.
But the icing on the cake is what comes next.
And once you know what to look for,
it feels absurdly on the nose.
She's sending Kvothe off and she says,
"I imagine you could make it up to both Lady Lackless
"and myself if you found some sweet nettle
"for the pot tonight."
I imagine you could, Kvothe.
I imagine you could.
Because they're the same person.
Listen, that is in chapter 11 of "The Name of the Wind,"
which has 92 chapters.
Lackless is only even mentioned one more time in this book
in chapter 43 when someone's talking about
the current lineage to the throne.
Which spoilers is likely relevant
to why the rest of it is relevant,
but the Lackless name doesn't come up again after that
until chapter 58 of "The Wise Man's Fear,"
where the Lackless lineage comes sharper into focus
and we learn that the Maer Alvaron has picked
Meluan Lackless as a potential spouse.
The quick recap here is that Kvothe needs to spend some time
away from the university,
and his good buddy Count Threpe has a lead for him
basically across the Four Corners,
which is the world "Name of the Wind" operates in.
That is until he goes to Ademre. And the Fae.
Those are not the Four Corners.
When Kvothe arrives in the maer's court,
he learns that the maer was looking for someone
to help him court Meluan Lackless,
someone who could write songs, letters,
and if the cause really called for it, poems. (shudders)
Part one of this plan starts with Kvothe
needing to spend some time with Meluan
so he has a better idea of who she is
and he has a better idea of how to then court her.
So Kvothe learns table manners
and doesn't eat the rind of the cheese,
which frankly is just absurd,
and then is finally ready to extend an arm
and guide Lady Lackless to her seat when,
"Her profile struck me with such a strong resemblance
"that I couldn't help but stare.
"I knew her, I was certain of it.
"But I couldn't for the life of me remember
"where we might have met."
Now to be fair, Kvothe never actually connects
this resemblance that he recognizes
specifically to his mother,
to which you might be like, "Ben, you cannot be serious.
"You're making the leap from, 'Wow, this woman's familiar'
"to, 'Yep, that's his aunt.'"
That is exactly what I'm doing.
But I agree, we still need more.
And the rest of Kvothe's evening
with Meluan goes swimmingly,
save for the fact he discovers she hates the Edema Ruh.
Bummer. Except not.
Well, yes, still bummer.
The Ruh are good folk, bad reputation, but good people.
That's just it.
Bad reputation is a battle that the Ruh face
everywhere they go.
Not everybody knows the difference
between standard traveling performers
and the true blue Edema Ruh.
Wait a second, was that too close to poetry?
That was not poetry!
It just rhymed.
Point is bad reputation.
And Kvothe is withholding this particular bit of information
from the maer for that very reason.
That said though, bad reputation is not the reason
why Meluan hates them.
If you fast forward again to chapter 139
of "Wise Man's Fear,"
see, I told you the details are just spread everywhere,
Kvothe has cleared the eld of the bandits;
escaped Felurian and the Faen realm;
traveled to and from Ademre;
discovered and wiped out a fake Edema Ruh troupe;
returned their two hostages to their hometown;
and back to the maer's estate who wants him to figure out
the Lackless family box
when he finally reveals his heritage
to both the maer and Meluan.
Meluan is super upset and we get the following,
"My lady has had unfortunate dealings
"with the Ruh in the past.
"You would do well to note.
"I know of her sister. Her family's tragic shame.
"Run off and love a trouper. How terrible."
And now I think we're there.
The all-too-familiar-looking Meluan Lackless,
who hates the Ruh because they stole away her sister,
better known as Kvothe's mother
who we know came from a noble family
and chided her son for singing a nursery rhyme
about none other than Lady Lackless, aka herself.
Kvothe is a Lackless.
(sighs) What does that mean?
Well for starters, it means that Kvothe might not be
so bloodless as he previously thought.
In fact, he would actually put him 10th in line
to be the next king of Vintas.
It's actually two spots ahead of none other
than Ambrose Jakis, first born son of Baron Jakis
of the barony of the pirate isles.
Did you catch that?
That's pirate as in pirate.
He's even got the big hat with the feather and everything.
Classic pirates love their big hats.
- I'll buy you the hat, a really big one.
- That's relevant because in a another
blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment,
Sim explains that the entire Surthen family was lost at sea.
For reference there, the Surthen family are like
five of the people who are in line for the throne
in front of the Jakis family.
And when I say it in front of, I mean directly in front of.
They were like the first obstacle.
Pair that with pirates and Ambrose's just personality
and I think we're starting to get a pretty clear narrative
that the Jakis family is attempting to kill their way
onto the throne,
which also possibly means there's an even greater reason
that Ambrose is going to want Kvothe dead.
Not that he really needed another reason.
On top of all the rest, there is also this final detail.
Ventus is Latin for wind.
So literally the supreme ruler of this land
is king of the wind.
For a book that's titled about
and largely has details surrounding
and for a character who is specifically chasing the wind,
that feels relevant.
Okay. Okay, I see you in the back there.
What about when the Cthaeh says,
"Since you asked so sweetly, Cinder is the one you want.
"Remember him? White hair? Dark eyes?
"Did things to your mother, you know. Terrible.
"She held up well though.
"Laurian was always a trouper,
"if you'll pardon the expression.
"Much better than your father,
"with all his begging and blubbering."
What I wanna pull from that specifically is the phrase,
"Laurian was always a trouper,"
which has got to be the most insensitive double meaning
in just the history of ever.
But the second meaning is that she was always of the Ruh,
which is a troupe.
And we know the Cthaeh always speaks the truth.
So if Laurian was always a trouper,
then how was it possible
that she was previously of noble birth?
This is because Laurian clearly changed her name
after leaving her family.
Laurian has always been a trouper.
Lady Lackless on the other hand, not so much.
And as it were, we actually know
what Meluan Lackless' sister's name was.
It is mentioned exactly once.
"I'd started the second bottle of wine
"by the time I read that young Netalia Lackless had run away
"with a troupe of traveling performers."
And lines up perfectly with the song
that Kvothe tells Will and Sam used to get his father
a night under the wagon.
"Dark Laurian, Arliden's wife,
"has a face like the blade of a knife,
"has a voice like a pricklebrown burr,
"but can tally a sum like a moneylender.
"My sweet Tally cannot cook,
"but she keeps a tidy ledger-book.
"For all her faults, I do confess, it's worth my life
"to make my wife not tally a lot less."
That song is written for and about Kvothe's mom,
and look carefully at those last two lines.
"Make my wife not tally a lot less."
"Not tally a lot less."
Do you get it?
It's a play on words.
Lot less is obviously not Lackless,
but we also know that the Lackless family name
has changed a bunch.
And either way, I still think it fits.
On top of that, the word Tally in the song before
is capitalized, meaning it's a proper noun.
And Tally is a nickname for people named Netalia.
Poom! Kvothe is a Lackless.
He is ahead of Ambrose in line for the throne.
And that throne is the king of Vintas,
or the king of the wind.
This is why I said I'm not even sure if this is a theory.
All of this information is there.
If this is not the case,
it is the most clever misdirect in the history of ever.
But guys, for my question of the day, what do you think?
Is Kvothe a Lackless?
What would that mean if in fact he was?
Let us know all of your thoughts
in the towel section down below.
But guys as always, thanks for watching.
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Otherwise guys, until next time, bye.